Not the Time, Nor the Place
by xxRedandGovernors.Peachxx
Summary: Story begins at Season 4 Episode 06 Live Bait. The Governor's meeting w/ Martinez never happens. What could have happened if The Governor had never ran into Martinez and his group. The story follows The Governor (Brian), Meghan, Lilly, and Tara as set out on their journey to Terminus, encountering Rick and company. What will happen when their worlds collide?


**Not The Time, Nor The Place**

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_**Disclaimer**__: For entertainment purposes only. I own nothing of The Walking Dead, amc, or the characters portrayed within the story._

Chapter 1 - The Journey

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"We have to go, NOW!", yelled Brian. The angst in his voice was unmistakable. He saw that he and his new family had been surrounded by biters and the only option left was to run. Brian's memories began to flood his already overwhelmed mind.

"In this life now, you kill or you die. Or you die and you kill", those words rang through his head as panic began to set in. The words he had casually spoken to Milton as he killed him and left both he and Andrea for dead ran through his body like ice water. He had been wrong, because sometimes the only thing left to do is to run. Sooner or later, you have to run.

As they stood in the middle of the highway, he quickly glanced around on all sides of them, and noticed to his right there was a narrow dirt trail. It lead to God knows where, but they were out of options. "THERE!" He yells adamantly, demanding they follow him and keep up at a quick pace. He reached down with his taut arms and scooped up Megan, the little girl who had captured his heart so many months ago, and took off in a dead sprint through the woods of Macon County, Georgia.

There was still some daylight to get to a safe place, but the crisp fall air had already begun turning to a slight chill as the sun had started to set so he knew they would quickly need to find a safe place to keep warm. He ran as fast as his legs would allow him, sweat and fear visible on his worn face. He was tired of running, fed up with worrying himself until he felt physically ill about his family being in danger.

They had been on the road for at least four weeks now. They searched high and low for an invulnerable location to survive, and possibly build a life in together. He knew that the idea was as farfetched as them actually coming out of this alive, but he had to try. These girls had meant everything to him, and had brought him back from the hellish existence he had once thrived in and secretly loved once upon a time. Chaos had been his friend once he danced across the line of his sanity, and power was the only device he had lusted over.

After Martinez and Shumpert abandoned this seemingly deranged man, he spent months traveling on his own, nearly dying from starvation and dehydration. He had prayed for death to come, longed for its sweet release.

Once he saw Megan in the window of a run-down apartment building, he knew that he was meant for something that deviated drastically from the current path he allegedly had been destined to walk. He left his old life behind him, shedding it from his soul as a snake sheds its skin. He even abandoned his old moniker and called himself Brian Heriot, rather than Philip Blake or The Governor. The continuation of the latter two were dead for all he cared. It had become imperative to keep the people he loved safe and out of the way of the biters and dangerous people.

He turned his head while still holding onto Megan tightly, expecting to see Lilly and Tara in tow. They had obviously fallen behind, and panic began to rise in his throat like a dreadful poison choking him senseless. He stops momentarily, realizing he has been running for quite some time.

"Where is Mommy?", the sweet, but frightened girl asks him. "I don't know sweetheart. We are going to stay right here until I hear them coming, alright? We are NOT leaving without her, or your Aunt Tara, you hear me?", Brian reassures her. He was visibly nervous, and his patch-covered socket where his right eye had been began to throb. It did that more often than not, especially if he became stressed in any form or fashion. But this time it was painful. "Dammit", he scoffs under his breath as he reaches for his face to put pressure on the old wound.

Suddenly, he hears movement about twenty feet from where he and Megan are hiding behind an oak tree. He presses his back into the tree with such force that he almost forgets to breathe. Megan is standing in front of him, his arms draped over her like a protective shield, pressing her up against his body, praying that it is not a swarm of biters.

Trepidation fills his heart, but he knows he cannot hide forever. He pulls his bowie knife from its sheath attached to his leather belt, raising his hand to the center of his chest preparing for what comes next. Sweat stings his one good eye, but he barely notices. He slowly peeks around the massive oak, and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Tara and Lilly creeping around the forest the same way he and Megan had been. He walks out from behind the tree with Megan, nearly scaring Tara to the point where she reaches for her 9mm.

"Whoa whoa, its me!" he says as quietly as he possibly can. Lilly runs and grabs Megan, clutching her like never before, peppering kisses on her little forehead. "While we were running through the trees along the path, I saw railroad tracks about fifty yards out. I think we should give it a shot and follow them in the morning. For now, we need to set up camp here. I am pretty sure we outran the biters for now. But we need to try to set up a perimeter and get some rest. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Lilly and Tara nod in agreement. "I will pull some of the paracord in my bag apart and put around camp with a couple cans attached. The last thing we need is a biter strolling into camp again" Tara retorts. "Sounds good, let's set up camp Lilly so we can get this youngin' to bed". He shoots a smile towards Lilly and looks back at Megan and gives her a wink. They are all exhausted by the time the darkness of night blankets the sky and everything around them.

The Governor doesn't sleep for hours, but instead thinks to himself that if they had more supplies and weapons, nothing could stop them from getting to a nice house somewhere nearby and living a permanent family life. His thoughts trail off into the shadows, and he sees Penny's face. Then he sees Andrea's, then Michonne's.

Hate fills his heart, and he clinches his fist so tightly that his nails dig into his flesh and begins to bleed. He regrets what he did to Andrea, but wishes with all of his being that he had killed Michonne when he had the opportunity. She is the only one in this world that he would love to see suffer, but then again, that was another life. He was not going to let his past hinder his future judgment calls or affect the way he treated his family. They brought him back from the depths of Hell, and he would never forget that. Never.

Brian cracks his eye open and realizes it is just before dawn. He actually had slept about two hours, but feels the effects of the road pressing down on his body like a cinderblock weighing him down under water, making it difficult to move. He sits up slowly and takes a deep breath, smelling the trees and hearing the birds sing their early morning songs.

He looks over at Lilly, Megan, and Tara. All three are sound asleep and he does not want to wake them. They are so perfect for him. Megan is Penny reborn. Lilly has become the one who holds the key to his heart. And Tara, she is the sister he never had. He leans over to Lilly and whispers in her ear softly, "Hey sweetheart, we better get going before daylight. I don't know how long we will be doing this, but the sooner we get going the better".

He places his hand on the middle of her back, splaying his fingers across her midriff. He gently slips his fingers under her shirt and makes little circles with his thumb. Lilly grins widely when wakes up and feels Brian's warmth against her skin. She lifts one eyelid and the other hesitantly follows, and she grumbles under her breath but makes no effort to complain. "Okay, let me get the girls up and at 'em", she replies. "I'm going to go find us some breakfast while y'all pack, alright?" Brian says to her kindly.

Lilly loves to hear his voice smooth over, because it is then that she can see his vulnerability. His eyes glint a little, as he speaks to Lilly, the love he obviously has for her is written all over his face. He crawls out of the tent, only to see a damned raccoon has gotten inside of his pack. He jumps up and chases the scoundrel off without hesitation. "Damn raccoons.", he says as he chuckles a little to himself.

Not long after they have a squirrel for breakfast and pack what little supplies they have, they begin their journey down the railroad tracks. Brian has no idea where the tracks will lead, but is willing to stay the course and accept whatever comes next as long as he can protect what he holds most dear. After two straight days of walking the trusses, they come upon an opening of trees and a miniature substation meant for railroad crossings. He squints his eye a bit and looks up ahead. Does he really see what he thinks he is seeing? He pulls both straps of his backpack around onto his shoulders and takes off running, and stops when he reaches a sign and a map that reads:

TERMINUS

Those who arrive, SURVIVE.

SANCTUARY for ALL.

COMMUNITY for ALL.

"You gotta be shittin' me?!" he says as he reads the inscription over and over again, still not believing what he is reading. Lilly, Tara, and Megan catch up to him and read the sign just as he had. They all look at one another and smile. Then Brian's dark memories come flooding back to him. What if this place is being ran by someone who was like who he used to be? He could not let that happen, not now, not ever.

Circumstances have changed, and so has he. He had nearly went to war with the survivors at the prison because of his selfish need to feel as if he was in control of every situation he was ever involved in. It had consumed him, and nearly defeated him. He knew how ridiculous it seemed now, but at the time, all of the terrible things he had done made perfect sense to him.

The last thing he wanted was for the girls he has grown to love to be subjected to a monster that was in charge of a survivalist camp, much like he had been. At that very moment, he swore a solemn vow. Not to God, not to them, but to himself; that he would never let his old, twisted psyche resurface, even if it ultimately cost him his life.


End file.
